Abstract:

A hot melt structure for an electronic device is disclosed. The electronic
device comprises a first component and a second component. The hot melt
structure comprises a fixing element and a hot melt element. The fixing
element is disposed on the first component, and the hot melt element is
disposed on the second component. The hot melt element comprises a gap
portion and a hollow portion through which the fixing element is combined
with the hot melt element. The height of the hot melt element is larger
than that of the fixing element. The hot melt element can be heated to
deform inwardly towards the hollow portion for fixing the fixing element.

Claims:

1. A hot melt structure for an electronic device, the electronic device
comprising a first component and a second component, the hot melt
structure comprising:a fixing element disposed on the first component;
anda hot melt element disposed on the second component, the hot melt
element comprising a gap portion and a hollow portion through which the
fixing element combining with the hot melt element, wherein a height of
the hot melt element is larger than that of the fixing element;wherein
the hot melt element is heated to deform towards the hollow portion to
fix the fixing element.

2. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixing
element comprises a column portion and a connecting portion, the column
portion connects with the connecting portion, the column portion is
correspondingly inserted to the hollow portion, and the connecting
portion correspondingly goes through the gap portion.

3. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional
diameter of the column portion is larger than a minimum width of the gap
portion.

4. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hot melt
element further comprises a concave portion, a transverse cross sectional
diameter of the concave portion is not smaller than that of the hollow
portion.

5. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the transverse
cross sectional diameter of the concave portion changes accordingly with
a longitudinal depth of the concave portion.

6. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein a longitudinal
section of the concave portion forms at least one rectangular structure,
at least one trapezoid structure or at least one structure having two
opposing curves.

7. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixing
element further comprises a corresponding hot melt element disposed on
the connecting portion, a shape and a position of the corresponding hot
melt element corresponding to those of the gap portion.

8. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein a height of the
corresponding hot melt element combining with the connecting portion is
not smaller than that of the hot melt element.

9. The hot melt structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein the corresponding
hot melt element comprises a corresponding concave portion, a structure
of the corresponding concave portion corresponds to that of the concave
portion.

10. A method for combining the hot melt structure as claimed in claim 1,
comprising the following steps:inserting the fixing element into the hot
melt element; andheating the hot melt element to let the hot melt element
deform towards the hollow portion to fix the fixing element.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the step of heating the hot
melt element further comprising heating the corresponding hot melt
element to let the corresponding hot melt element deform towards the
hollow portion to fix the fixing element.

12. An electronic device comprising:a first component;a second component
correspondingly combining with the first component; anda hot melt
structure comprising:a fixing element disposed on the first component;
anda hot melt element disposed on the second component, the hot melt
element comprising a gap portion and a hollow portion through which the
fixing element combining with the hot melt element, wherein a height of
the hot melt element is larger than that of the fixing element;wherein
the hot melt element is heated to deform towards the hollow portion to
fix the fixing element so as to let the first component combine with the
second component.

13. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the fixing
element comprises a column portion and a connecting portion, the column
portion connects with the connecting portion, the column portion is
correspondingly inserted to the hollow portion, and the connecting
portion correspondingly goes through the gap portion.

14. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein a
cross-sectional diameter of the column portion is larger than a minimum
width of the gap portion.

15. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the hot melt
element further comprises a concave portion, a transverse cross sectional
diameter of the concave portion is not smaller than that of the hollow
portion.

16. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the transverse
cross sectional diameter of the concave portion changes accordingly with
a longitudinal depth of the concave portion.

17. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein a longitudinal
section of the concave portion forms at least one rectangular structure,
at least one trapezoid structure or at least one structure having two
opposing curves.

18. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the fixing
element further comprises a corresponding hot melt element disposed on
the connecting portion, a shape and a position of the corresponding hot
melt element corresponding to those of the gap portion.

19. The electronic device as claimed in claim 18, wherein a height of the
corresponding hot melt element combining with the connecting portion is
not smaller than that of the hot melt element.

20. The electronic device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the
corresponding hot melt element comprises a corresponding concave portion,
a structure of the corresponding concave portion corresponds to that of
the concave portion.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001]1. Field of the Invention

[0002]The present invention relates to a hot melt structure, and more
particularly, to a hot melt structure which is applicable in an
electronic device to save the inner space of the electronic device.

[0003]2. Description of the Related Art

[0004]In assembling components in an electronic device, it is common to
use screws or hot melt elements to combine two components. For example,
the prior art technique in FIG. 1(a) shows an electronic device 200
comprising a main case 210 disposed with a hot melt column 212, and a hot
melt opening 222 disposed on the case member 220 to be corresponding to
the hot melt column 212. When combining the main case 210 and the case
member 220, let the hot melt opening 222 of the case member 220 go
through the hot melt column 212 of the main case 210, then use a hot melt
jig 230 to heat the hot melt column 212. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the hot
melt column 212 will deform when heated, so the hot melt material will
flow outwardly from the column; after the hot melt material is cooled
down, the hot melt column reshapes into a T-shaped column to fix the case
member 220 on the main case 210.

[0005]When the hot melt column 212 is disposed near the sidewall of the
main case 210, a spacing is required to keep the hot melt column 212 and
the sidewall of the main case 210 for a certain distance to prevent the
main case 210 from sticking with the case member 220 in the process of
inserting the hot melt column 212 through the hot melt opening 222, and
to let the hot melt jig 230 have enough space to heat the hot melt column
212. However, this kind of design takes up a lot of available space
inside the device and makes it hard to dispose the components inside the
limited inner space of the electronic device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006]The main object of the present invention is to provide a hot melt
structure which is applicable in an electronic device to save the inner
space of the electronic device.

[0007]In order to achieve the above object, the present invention
discloses a hot melt structure for an electronic device, the electronic
device comprises a first component and a second component, the hot melt
structure comprises a fixing element and a hot melt element; the fixing
element is disposed on the first component; and the hot melt element
disposed on the second component; the hot melt element comprises a gap
portion and a hollow portion through which the fixing element combines
with the hot melt element, wherein a height of the hot melt element is
larger than that of the fixing element. The hot melt element is heated to
deform towards the hollow portion to fix the fixing element. Therefore,
the hot melt structure can effectively fix and position components in the
electronic device and save the inner space of the electronic device.

[0008]A method for combining the hot melt structure is disclosed, the
method comprises the following steps: inserting the fixing element into
the hot melt element; and heating the hot melt element to let the hot
melt element deform inwardly towards the hollow portion to fix the fixing
element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) illustrate sectional views of prior art hot melt
structure before and after the hot melting process;

[0010]FIG. 2 illustrates an explosive structure view of a hot melt
structure in a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 3 illustrates an assembling view of the hot melt structure in
the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0012]FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) illustrate sectional views of the hot melt
structure in the first embodiment before and after the hot melting
process;

[0013]FIG. 5(a), (b), (c) and (d) illustrate sectional views of the hot
melt structure each having one single type of concave portion in the
present invention;

[0014]FIG. 6(a), (b) and (c) illustrate sectional views of the hot melt
structure each having a combinational type of concave portion in the
present invention;

[0015]FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) illustrate sectional views of the hot melt
structure each having different combinational type of concave portion in
the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 8 illustrates an explosive structure view of a hot melt
structure in a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 9 illustrates a combinational view of the hot melt structure in
the second embodiment of the present invention; and

[0018]FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method for combining the hot
melt structure in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019]The advantages and innovative features of the invention will become
more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0020]Please refer to FIG. 2 for an explosive structure view of a hot melt
structure in a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in
FIG. 2, a hot melt structure 100 is provided for an electronic device 1,
the electronic device 1 comprises a first component 10 and a second
component 20. In this embodiment, the first component 10 can be a
component of the electronic device 1 to be assembled, the second
component 20 can be a main case of the electronic device 1; however,
these two components are interchangeable or replaceable by other
components and are not limited by the present embodiment.

[0021]The hot melt structure 100 comprises a fixing element 110 and a hot
melt element 120, the fixing element 110 is disposed on the first
component 10, the hot melt element 120 is disposed on the second
component 20. In the present embodiment, the fixing element 110 and the
first component 10 can form a one-piece structure, while the hot melt
element 120 and the second component 20 can form another one-piece
structure, but the present invention can have other type of embodiments.
The hot melt element 120 is made by a hot melt material, which will
deform when heated with a certain temperature. The fixing element 110
comprises a column portion 112 and a connecting portion 114, the column
portion 112 connects with the connecting portion 114, the hot melt
element 120 comprises a gap portion 122 and a hollow portion 124. The
shape of the column portion 112 corresponds to that of the hollow portion
124 of the hot melt element 120 to allow the column portion 112 to be
inserted into the hollow portion 124. The connecting portion 114 of the
fixing element 110 can correspondingly go through the gap portion 122 of
the hot melt element 120. In this embodiment, the hot melt element 120 is
designed to have a shape like a cylinder; however, the hot melt element
120 can have other shapes such as a rectangular pole or other similar
structures.

[0022]Please refer to FIG. 3 for an assembling view of the hot melt
structure in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in
FIG. 3, the fixing element 110 corresponds to the hot melt element 120 to
let the connecting portion 114 correspondingly go through the gap portion
122; besides, the column portion 112 is correspondingly inserted into the
hollow portion 124 so as to let the fixing element 110 combine with the
hot melt element 120. The cross-sectional diameter of the column portion
112 is larger than the minimum width of the gap portion 122, so when the
column portion 112 is inserted into the hollow portion 124, the width of
the gap portion 122 will restrain and hold the column portion 112 in
position; therefore the column portion 112 will not break away from the
hot melt element 120 through the gap portion 122.

[0023]Please refer to FIG. 4(a) and 4(b) for sectional views of the hot
melt structure 100 in the first embodiment before and after the hot
melting process. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the fixing element 110 is
inserted into the hot melt element 120, wherein the height of the hot
melt element 120 is larger than that of the fixing element 110;
therefore, when the hot melt structure 100 is heated to melt, there is
enough heated hot melt element 120 to cover and restrain the fixing
element 110. Afterwards the hot melt element 120 is heated by using a hot
melt jig 130. As shown in FIG. 4(b), the hot melt element 120 will deform
inwardly when it is heated; therefore the fixing element 110 is covered
by the hot melt element 120. When the deformed hot melt element 120 is
cooled down, it becomes the element for fixing the fixing element 110,
thereby providing fixing and positioning effects to the hot melt
structure 100.

[0024]Please refer to FIG. 5(a), (b), (c) and (d) for sectional views of
the hot melt structure 100 each having one single type of concave portion
126 in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5(a), the hot melt element
120 further comprises the concave portion 126, the transverse cross
sectional diameter s1 of the concave portion 126 is not smaller than the
transverse cross sectional diameter s2 of the hollow portion 124. When
the concave portion 126 is applied, it is easier for the heated hot melt
element 120 to flow to the hollow portion 124, thereby enhancing the
tendency of flowing inwardly. In this embodiment, the longitudinal
section of the concave portion 126 can be a rectangular structure (the
area surrounded by the dotted line). As shown in FIG. 5(b), the
transverse cross sectional diameter s1 of the concave portion 126 changes
along with longitudinal depth of the concave portion 126. The present
invention is implemented so that the transverse cross sectional diameter
s1 decreases when the longitudinal depth of the concave portion 126
increases, so the hot melt element 120 tends to flow to the hollow
portion 124 when it is heated and restrained by the concave portion 126
at the same time. In this embodiment, the longitudinal section of the
concave portion 126 can be a trapezoid structure, which comprises slant
edges to facilitate the inward flowing effect. As shown in FIG. 5(c) and
FIG. 5(d), the longitudinal section of the concave portion 126 can be a
structure which comprises two opposing sides formed as curves; and the
transverse cross sectional diameter s1 decreases when the longitudinal
depth of the concave portion 126 increases; in this embodiment, the
arc-shaped slant edges can also provide the similar effect as that
provided in the previous embodiments.

[0025]Please refer to FIG. 6(a), (b) and (c) for sectional views of the
hot melt structure 100 each having a combinational type of concave
portion in the present invention. The longitudinal section of the concave
portion 126 described above can have a plurality of rectangular
structures, trapezoid structures or structures comprising two opposing
curves. As shown in FIG. 6(a), the concave portion 126 can be a step
structure to let the longitudinal section of the concave portion 126
comprise two sets of rectangular structures, while the length of the top
rectangular structure is larger than that of the bottom rectangular
structure. As shown in FIG. 6(b), the longitudinal section of the concave
portion 126 can be formed by combining two trapezoid structures having
different slopes; therefore the transverse cross sectional diameter of
the concave portion 126 decreases as the longitudinal depth increases. As
shown in FIG. 6(c), the longitudinal section of the concave portion 126
can be formed by combining two structures each comprising two opposing
curves, wherein the transverse cross sectional diameter of the concave
portion 126 also decreases as the longitudinal depth increases in this
embodiment to achieve the inward flowing effect.

[0026]Please refer to FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) for sectional views of the hot
melt structure 100 each having different combinational type of concave
portion 126 in the present invention. The longitudinal section of the
concave portion 126 described above can be formed by combining at least
one rectangular structure, at least one trapezoid structure or at least
one structure comprising two opposing curves. As shown in FIG. 7(a), the
longitudinal section of the concave portion 126 can be formed by
combining a rectangular structure and a trapezoid structure. As shown in
FIG. 7(b), the longitudinal section of the concave portion 126 can be
formed by combining a rectangular structure and a structure comprising
two opposing curves. In this embodiment, the concave portion 126 can be a
multilayer structure formed by combining different geometric structures
as described above, wherein the arrangement and the number of the
geometric structures are not limited in the present invention and can be
varied to meet practical design requirements. Therefore the hot melt
element 120 tends to flow toward the concave portion 126 when heated so
as to cover and fix the fixing element.

[0027]Please refer to FIG. 8 for an explosive structure view of a hot melt
structure 100a in a second embodiment of the present invention. The
second embodiment is a variation of the first embodiment, as shown in
FIG. 8, the fixing element 110a of the hot melt structure 100a further
comprises a corresponding hot melt element 116 disposed on the connecting
portion 114, the shape and the position of the corresponding hot melt
element 116 correspond to those of the gap portion 122 of the hot melt
element 120. The corresponding hot melt element 116 is made of the same
hot melt material as the hot melt element 120 and will deform when heated
with a certain temperature. Therefore, when the hot melt jig heats the
hot melt element 120, the corresponding hot melt element 116 will be
heated as well to combine with the hot melt element 120 to fill the gap
portion 122 of the hot melt element 120, so the heated hot melt material
will not flow to the gap portion 122 and will be more evenly distributed.

[0028]Furthermore, the corresponding hot melt element 116 comprises a
corresponding concave portion 118, the structure of the corresponding
concave portion 118 corresponds to that of the concave portion 126 of the
hot melt element 120 to enhance the flow of the heated corresponding hot
melt element 116 towards the hollow portion 124 to facilitate the fixing
effect.

[0029]Please refer to FIG. 9 for a combinational view of the hot melt
structure in the second embodiment of the present invention. Also refer
to FIG. 6, the connecting portion 114 of the fixing element 110a
correspondingly goes through the gap portion 122 of the hot melt element
120, and the column portion 112 is correspondingly inserted into the
hollow portion 124 for combining the fixing element 110a and the hot melt
element 120, at this time the corresponding hot melt element 116 is
correspondingly disposed at the gap portion 122 to let the hot melt
element 120 of the hot melt structure 100a form a nearly cylindrical
hollow column with the corresponding hot melt element 116. The height of
the corresponding hot melt element 116 combining with the connecting
portion 114 is not smaller than the height of the hot melt element 120.
In this embodiment, the height of the corresponding hot melt element 116
combining with the connecting portion 114 is substantially equal to the
height of the hot melt element 120 to enhance uniformity and more evenly
distributed hot melt material. However, the height or the thickness of
the corresponding hot melt element 116 can be varied according to design
requirements and is not limited by the present embodiment.

[0030]Please refer to FIG. 10 for a flowchart of a method for combining
the hot melt structure in the present invention. It is noted that the
method is applicable in combining the hot melt structure 100 or the hot
melt structure 100a, and any other hot melt structure. The method
comprises step 300 to step 310, which is described below:

[0031]Step 300: inserting the fixing element 110 into the hot melt element
120. As shown in FIG. 3, insert the fixing element 110 of the first
component 10 into the hot melt element 120 of the second component 20,
wherein the connecting portion 114 of the fixing element 110
correspondingly goes through the gap portion 122 of the hot melt element
120, and the column portion 112 can be correspondingly disposed in the
hollow portion 124; therefore the first component 10 combines with the
second component 20 by inserting the fixing element 110 into the hot melt
element 120.

[0032]Step 310: heating the hot melt element 120 to let the hot melt
element 120 deform towards the hollow portion 124 to fix the fixing
element 110. As shown in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b), when the fixing element
110 has been inserted into the hot melt element 120, a hot melt jig can
be used for heating the hot melt element 120 to let it deform. The hot
melt jig can be a welding torch, and the cross-sectional diameter of the
hot melt jig is not smaller than that of the hot melt element 120 so as
to totally cover the hot melt element 120 to heat and to melt a portion
of the hot melt element 120. The heated hot melt material will flow
towards the hollow portion 124 and then reshape, thereby covering the
fixing element 110 to fix and position the fixing element 110.
Furthermore, the design of the concave portion 126 of the hot melt
element 120 and the size of the cross-sectional diameter of the hot melt
jig can help the hot melt material flow towards the hollow portion 124
more easily.

[0033]Furthermore, as to the second embodiment of the hot melt structure
100a, the heating process in step 310 also heats the corresponding hot
melt element 116 on the fixing element 110, since the corresponding hot
melt element 116 is also made of hot melt material, so the corresponding
hot melt element 116 also flows to the hollow portion 124 when heated,
the heated hot melt element 120 and the corresponding hot melt element
116 will integrate as a whole to better fix the fixing element 120.

[0034]Please refer to FIG. 2 again, the electronic device 1 comprises the
first component 10, the second component 20 and the hot melt structure
100 as described in FIG. 1, the second component 20 correspondingly
combines with the first component 10, the fixing element 110 of the hot
melt structure 100 is disposed on the first component 10, and the hot
melt element 120 of the hot melt structure 100 is disposed on the second
component 20. The first component 10 and the second component 20 is to be
combined with each other by inserting the fixing element 110 into the hot
melt element 120, and by heating the hot melt element 120 to fix the
fixing element 110. The electronic device 1 can also replace the hot melt
structure 100 with the hot melt structure 100a as described in FIG. 2 to
achieve the same effect. The electronic device 1 can be a notebook PC,
mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA), or other electronic
device which comprises different components to be combined; therefore the
present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments.

[0035]It is noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are only for
illustration, it is intended that the present invention cover
modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within
the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. Therefore, it
will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications
and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention
without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.